Forgotten Land
by Rakusa
Summary: Endymion stumbles upon the hidden world of the Moon
1. One

Forgotten Land

9/28/2010

SUM: Endymion stumbles upon the hidden world of the Moon.

* * *

AN: You're all going to kill me, but that's ok, because I'd gladly do it all for you. I have decided upon a new story... and it's all the fault of a girl who dresses up in cosplay and I stumbled upon her princess Serenity outfit picture and the words scrawled on the bottom caught my attention. I pray this will be short. Really this probably should have been another couple, one of the generals and... Rei or Minako perhaps, but I don't really write those couples too often and not as standalone fics. Though I used to love Makoto fics... sigh, the olden days... (On an up-note, I THINK this is the first new story in 2010)...

ONE

As a small child, Endymion learned to hunt. His father and bodyguards took him out to the woods and entrenched themselves in the middle of nowhere. Surrounded by towering Ginko trees, the nearest branch usually well out of reach, especially for a child. The same child who tripped and crashed into the forest floor, following the men and their footsteps. As he grew, he too set traps, followed scents and hunted. The floor squishing beneath his feet as he followed his prey. Sat in those trees high above and waited, chased after ones that he missed, swinging down from the branches and landing silently as a cat.

He was considered by all a panther. Dark and able to blend into the surroundings of the forest, which cast shadows at any time of day, emerging a fierce and dangerous creature with grace and finess. The only sign any of the prey got was the mass moving towards it quickly and silently and intent, if it say him at all.

The leaves fell, it grew colder and the game changed. Different food was hunted, different methods employed. The colors changing from green and a canopy overhead to crushing beneath boots and grinding into the roots of the forest floor. Or soggy and slippery, the seasons changed, the environment changed, and still he was taught the way of his ancestors. He grew with it, learned to hear before others, smell what was not only upwind but also down. He became the fiercest hunter of them all, always getting what he wanted.

He was not all hunt. He gathered as well, these long trips out with the men of his life. He sat and watched the stream flow by. The fish swam and he usually left them be, unless that was his game for the season. Looking down into the water at the pebbles tumbling around, at the mercy of the rushing rapids. Watching the water, seeing it change from calm to chaos and back. Not sure which he preferred more.

Laying back against the grass the few scant months that there were any, when he was at home, or just out of the woods. He would look up into the sky and ponder about the stars and the sun and the moon. Night was his game, even in broad-daylight and so he had a strange affinity for the Moon, which was visible both day and night, but belonged to the night, allowing it to shine more brightly than in the day when it looked like another cloud in the sky and had to share its glory with the sun. However the Moon might need the sun to shine, but it could over power the sun at any moment, sliding in between it and the earth and blocking all light. Putting the sun out, if only for a moment. The earth had the same ability on the moon, blocking the sun from it once every cycle.

It was a co-dependent relationship though, for when the moon was bright and full you could make out the individual blades of grass, the way the moss clung to the side of a tree. If you were real lucky, you could see the air move and shift directions.

His childhood had taught him many things, he learned everything everyone could teach him and he far outgrew his father in hunting, trapping and anything else the old man could teach him. The son was better than the father, tapping into things the father either never knew existed or achieving it where the other couldn't.

His childhood might have taught him a lot of things, but it could not teach him what he was about to discover. Nothing would prepare him for his next journey.


	2. Two

Forgotten Land

9/28/2010

SUM: Endymion stumbles upon the hidden world of the Moon.

* * *

TWO

* * *

Endymion's life did not consist solely on damp ground or in the cover of high above tree branches. His life was far more complex than that. He oversaw countless of other duties, was a man where others in his position, rank and age were merely boys. Others who had many of the same luxuries he had when he was home were pampered and spoiled, lazy and weak, arrogant and cruel.

His days upon the Royal Palace grounds were not to the envy of anyone else, he actually did work, oversaw others who did other work and continued to learn. He learned to fight, learned to anticipate the others' moves when they could attack back, similar to his hunt, but also very different. He learned what each tree and plant were called and their uses. He oversaw the maids and the kitchen staff and the musicians and the tailors. He parried words of wit with fellow royalty and noblemen and men who wanted to usurp everything. Endymion kept them at bay.

Endymion even oversaw the other Royalty as even they were lower ranking than his family. His was the Royal Family of Earth. The others fought squabbling battles over territory and land and goods. He sought to keep the peace between them, for he could not understand those desires when he owned all of it, and they were only governors of sections, equal sections. Intended to be divided in such a way that all would be prosperous and none solely land that could not be cultivated or support life. Though even those areas had a way of producing.

He fended off marriage offers easily, most were only seduced by the title, others by the inheritance, and others still for fear of what their families would do if they did not secure the crown and heir.

Not only was he the only boy, but he was the only child his mother could produce. His father had dreamed of raising at least two children, of both genders, but had to console himself with one. His father was one of twelve children, and was the chosen one to rule and carry the line. The other eleven either had no interest in politics or bumped off the Kings and Queens of the other realms, as long as they weren't connected to the family through blood ties. Usually they were ill-suited rulers anyway.

None of the other decedents would ever hold the title he possessed or would yet gain. It wasn't that they were unable to carry out the job, but rather they could not hold it. One was picked and picked alone. Endymion was forced into that position with no reprieve and was forced to learn everything on his own, no siblings to help share their knowledge or enjoy the tasks with. Bodyguards quadrupled the normal amount given to the Royal Family, secondary guards doubled. He was the only heir, and while he was to be raised strong and tough and put through every test a true leader needed, his father ensured no one could kill him and destroy the line forever. Beyond that though, Endymion had to hope that his father did it too because it would devastate him if his only child were murdered and ripped from his hands.

It was a fleeting hope as his father only continued to push him to new extremes.

Endymion sat outside the palace, in the Royal Garden looking out onto the sea of roses, they rose and fell like waves, each section a wildly different color than the last. The Moon shone a single beam upon the roses, highlighting only one section. Endymion didn't think anything of it. It often did that, the trees blocked most of the light through, protecting the flowers from too much sunlight during the day. The section it highlighted was the same as the year before, but what did catch Endymion's interest was the fact that it added a pearl glimmer to the deep red tips. It added a dimension not seen during the day. Nor at nights when the moon did not shine. What particularly caught his attention though, was that it was the same patch as the year before, but it was in a different location, so great a difference, that it was on the opposite side of the field.

The gardeners preferred to switch it up. Endymion cast back into his memory, each year he sat out here at night for as long as he could remember and each year the light shone on these same roses, the same color, the same roses Endymion long ago had come to adore as his favorite of all of them. It had taken a little while to come to that conclusion because there were so many varieties that it could be a different color every day of the year before factoring in the special winter roses the gardeners had created for his mother. These were his favorite, and he could not say what came first, because they lasted and grew all year long or because the moon had always touched them so, or he had just liked the color the best. Which ever came first, all three reasons held true still.

With these thoughts swirling around in his mind, he looked up towards the distant moon, and felt a connection to it only the Earth and Sun could. The Moon was as much his as it belonged to the Earth and the Earth was his and he was the Earth's. The Earth was the Moon's and he was the Moon's. He always watched the Moon and felt like it watched him back.

The darkness on the Moon's white surface had to be cities like those on Earth, clustered together in odd formations, some far from others, others tightly banded together, preferring to stick with one another to the extent it was difficult to tell where one ended and another one started. There was no knowledge though of people inhabiting the Moon, only wild stories. Incomplete and fables were the best description anyone could give to them.

Someone told him the other planets could be visible from his spot out here, but he had only ever seen stars. The Moon the only thing unique among the constellations.

The roses were vibrant and colorful but only the deep red stuck out to him perhaps it was because of the effects the Moon had on it, or perhaps it was because it was a drawing color to him. He instantly stood up from the bench and brushed off his pants and glided into the rose patches, straight up to one of the Moon touched Red Roses and bent down, snapping one perfectly formed rose off its stem and then turning back towards the palace.


	3. Three

Forgotten Land

9/28/2010

SUM: Endymion stumbles upon the hidden world of the Moon.

* * *

THREE

* * *

Endymion's walk was smooth and perfect as he headed to the one place that held the one person who could tell him what he wanted and most desperately needed to know.

The doors slammed open and his great-great-grandfather lifted his tired head off his chest and looked up wearily at the boy who rudely announced his presence. The old man, weak and gray and spotted was the oldest man alive, oldest one to have ever lived, had more knowledge than the rest of the planet combined. He was hidden away, out of sight and unknown to all but the Royal Family. It was whispered that he couldn't die and yet each year he aged and grew weaker but still clung on to this life.

"I welcome death." The old man muttered as soon as Endymion closed the doors again and Endymion paused in his step towards his ancestor. He had not said anything to receive this notice, and only after a slight hesitation, did he continue forward to the old man's side.

"Grandfather-"

"I know what you seek. You would not be here otherwise." The old man held out his hand and motioned for Endymion to kneel. "You are not the first, and will not be the last." The man placed a hand on Endymion's shoulder and used him to help him stand. He moved on shaking legs towards the wall of books. He did not use a crutch or accept Endymion's help, even fighting off the hands as he walked towards what he wanted.

"I only want to know if it is possible to-"

"You do not listen boy." The man's eyes were dark, darker than Endymion's darker than anyone Endymion knew, yet they were blue and pure blue ran in the family, even when they married into brown eyed families, with no trace of blue in their lineage. "Though with your arrogance and self-assurance, it may do you good." The old man looked thoughtful before he waved it off. "Nah." He turned back to the books. "You are no different than any of the other children at your age."

"I will go, if there is a way."

"There is a way." The old man's long boney finger with long hairs growing at different angles, his yellow and brittle nail skimmed the titles of books. "This place is all that everyone has forgotten or no longer wanted to know, they could not stand to face the truth. If what you want is here, then what you seek must be earned."

Endymion came up to his side. "Grandfather, you speak in riddles. I want-"

"To go to the moon." The old man cut him off, finishing his statement, but the way he said it was mockery, it sounded as if it was a toddler demanding a treat yet had a rhythm to it. "You are not the first, child!"

"Others wanted to go?" Endymion pressed, looking at the book the finger landed on briefly before continuing its search.

"Boys, girls, all at some point desired to venture to the only uncharted land, or at least in their minds. All gave up the notion quite early on. Some stuck it out, but none were worthy. Your father got the furthest." The dark blue eyes glanced sideways at Endymion for a moment, letting that information seep in. "But even he was afraid of what might happen if he succeeded." The man stopped and rubbed his eyes. "I tire of these trite passions that are only fleeting. No one is serious enough to reclaim what has been lost. I pray one day someone can put an end to my long miserable life. I think I have paid enough for my sins."

"Grandfather-"

"No! Hush! Go away and leave an old man to his peace!" He turned back to his seat and never pulled out a book. Endymion grabbed both the one he noted earlier and the one the old man finally stopped at. "All die in the end. Not I." Endymion turned towards the door, he had gotten what he had come for after all, even if it wasn't handed to him.


	4. Four

Forgotten Land

9/28/2010

SUM: Endymion stumbles upon the hidden world of the Moon.

* * *

FOUR

* * *

"_What you seek must be earned."_

The wise man had spoken, but Endymion was about to cheat, he would not bother going through all the trouble his father had to uncover the secrets that the Grandfather had hidden. He would not play the old man's game, learning everything he could only to be disappointed or chose not to go. Endymion did not bother at first to even look through the books he had taken from his Grandfather.

He instead turned directly to the study his father would be occupying this time of night. He knocks on the door, understanding that like his Grandfather, he might not get the answers he needed if he just barged in. He hears the admittance and lets himself in. Showing more respect than normal, (though he did show respect, just not as pronounced), he waited for his father to invite him to sit down.

"Ah, Endymion. What do I owe this unexpected visit, my son?" The man gestured towards the seat across from him. It was a comfortable chair, but its height and position still conveyed the message his father wanted to get across to all who sat in it. Endymion remembered bitter-sweetly the times he first sat in this chair when he was a child, getting into trouble for pranks he and his friends had pulled. The discipline was light, compared to what would happen to someone not so young or of Royal Blood.

The discipline was always hard work and required ingenuity to pull it off without getting hurt, and the punishment only inspired Endymion to act out more. He wanted to be like his father, but he wanted to be nothing like him at the same time. He wanted siblings, but he wanted all of the attention. His childhood was rough for him, and the years recently hadn't been easy, but they had been smoother.

"I was just down to see Grandfather." The name had been lost amid the generations, and it was a sign of respect.

The King raised a brow in surprise. "Was it useful?"

"More confusing than anything else."

"The man always had a way of reading my mind whenever I went to see him. So I stopped going."

"Seems no one is immune to that trait of his then." Endymion waited a beat before continuing. "What I went down to see him about, he said that you tried. That you got the furthest off all those wanting to-"

"Take that silly dream out of your head at this moment. You would not survive one second in that environment. It is not the Earth. There is no one up there, nothing to sustain life of any kind. I have seen the surface and it is barren."

"How did you see it?"

"When I was young, there were a group of men working on what they called a telescope. They allowed me access and I pointed it at the Moon. It is just craters and bare rock up there. Nothing to entice even the most romantic dreamer."

"You expect me to believe you were once that?" Endymion could have laughed, if he didn't feel like this was a dead end to every dream he ever had. "I would never have pegged Romantic or Dreamer on you."

"Enough son." The King commanded. "I wanted to go out and claim that land. Then I learned even the craziest of our people would not dare dream to move there. If there had even been a way to get there."

"What did you learn?" Endymion pushed. "Share with me the secrets Grandfather is trying to bury. He wants someone to go there. He believes he lives because of sins he committed there."

"Mindless ramblings of an old fool who does not know what he's saying. He's too old to understand what he's talking about." The King shook his head, he would not budge. "Anything you want to know about the legends and myths, all make believe of the orb in the sky are in those books he keeps with him. They will give you no answers, and in the end, if you follow this path, you will see you have only wasted your time. Many men and women smarter than you, only echo what I have just said, this is nothing, there will be no end result."

Endymion rose and left without another word. He pulled out of his shirt the two books and flipped through them. He slowly became entrenched with all that was written. Especially the part about a device that had been given to the people of the Earth by those of the Moon, a device that would allow movement between the two lands.

Since both the ones related to him failed to give him any truly useful, he turned to the only other person he thought might be able to help him. He rapped on Jadeite's door. The blond head peaked out, his torso bare from what Endymion could see and he didn't look any further. All he probably would have seen would have been a red cloth just above a bare knee.

The blue eyes widened in surprise to see the Prince at his door. "Endymion?"

Endymion lifted a brow. "Rei with you in there?"

Jadeite looked back before a head covered in black hair, mused but still shiny and mostly straight, appeared below Jadeite's. "Were you looking for me?" She asked silkily and then gasped and jerked away. "Jade!" She growled, clearly not amused about whatever he had done to her.

"You know better than to flirt with my Prince."

"But he's such a handsome fella." She pouted up towards him. Endymion cleared his throat and she winked at him, whether it was a flirtatious one or to reassure him that it wasn't, Endymion didn't know or frankly care.

"Not yet, Rei. I _might _have use for you later though. I was just more interested in knowing whether or not you were with him. Mind if I borrow your husband?" A slow smile unfurled Rei's lips before she shrugged and pulled away.

"Just don't keep him for too long." She called, and Jadeite's eyes tracked her movement and he almost left the door cracked open in an attempt to follow her. The two of them were very seductive with one another, and Endymion had to knock to regain Jadeite's attention, but he could tell it wasn't completely there.

"Just give me... a minute or two... to get dressed. I'll meet you-"

"I understand. Three minutes. In the office."

The words snagged Jadeite's attention for a brief second, and with a confused but interested look, Jadeite hesitated, like cold water had been splashed in his face. Then he nodded. "See you in a few." Jadeite shut the door and locked it and Endymion walked away. He'd give his general longer if he needed it, but he at least had caught his attention and he would be coming.

It was fairly late, and he didn't bother to wake any of the other generals, not that most were sleeping, but Jadeite and Rei were by the most active couple of the three of his married generals. Only Kunzite remained alone.

No, none of his other generals would be as much help as Jadeite. Not because of his training or intelligence, Nephrite and Zoicite out did him respectively on those issues. Nor for his incredible fighting ability, Kunzite was the first one he turned to if he wanted to spar. Jadeite offered a different kind of help altogether. Something that annoyed most of the staff and sentry of the Castle, but only amused Endymion and maybe caused a small amount of envy.

So he waited, Jadeite was worth the wait and patience, because he might sweep in greater rewards.


	5. Five

FIVE

* * *

Endymion did not know what he expected when he set out on this mission or what Jadeite would lead him into when he asked for his help. He however did not expect the man to be so peppy when he finally showed up, almost ten minutes later than the three Endymion had graciously given him or to clop him in a hug that threatened to close his esophagus when he explained his interest. Endymion figured that was part of the peppiness that Rei had given him and some of that was rubbing off onto him. Either way, Endymion's guard was now up, prepared to ward hi m off if he were to try it again.

What Endymion truly never thought of in a million years however, was where Jadeite decided to take him.

He followed his general for a long time, until at last they ended up where he had least expected to go. Not because he never would have thought of it in a million years, which was true. Not because it was hidden in an area he would never have stumbled across, in fact, it was a surprise he hadn't many times before this, that everyone didn't know about it already.

No, where his blond general lead him was someplace entirely too familiar. It was his bedroom. How _Jadeite _had found this, maybe constituted as a somewhat mystery, but he didn't put it pass his friend to do something like this. But where they stopped in his room was in front of a mirror that had recently been moved there from the entrance. _Just because he thought it was interesting._ Endymion had seen the ornate mirror many times and he'd always stopped and stared at its reflection. Not because of what he saw reflected back, but because it was hard to look away. Inevitably he always would. Then he would forget he'd done it, unless someone pointed it out to him, and then he'd forget again.

What prompted him to move the mirror to his room now after all the years he stumbled passed it, was actually the mirror frame itself. The unique ornateness had finally caught his attention. He was able to do something with the mirror other than stare into it.

Something Jadeite was doing right now. "Jadeite."

The blond whipped his attention away from his reflection and smiled sheepishly at Endymion. "Sorry, but it sings too sweetly to ignore."

"It sings?" Endymion lifted a black brow.

"You don't hear it? It's sweetly sung, but its haunting and melancholy." Jadeite looked at Endymion for a long time, and glanced towards the mirror again. Endymion's gaze did not follow. "I am surprised that you are not drawn to it like the others. Especially if you cannot hear it, and are in such close quarters with it all the time." Jadeite frowned deeper. "I was always waiting for you to be the one to change the tune... Perhaps I was wrong to wait."

"Like you said, I am different, I am not drawn to the reflection, nor to this _song_ you speak of. It is safest with me."

"No, it was best where it was, someplace where everyone could see it and reflect and _acknowledge _its existence. Even if they did forget again." Jadeite reached out a hand towards the frame and Endymion visibly reacted and Jadeite froze. "I wasn't going to harm it."

"I know, it's just so... delicate looking."

"That's the curse of it all, delicacy."

"Would you stop speaking in riddles? My grandfather does that enough as it is."

Jadeite looked abashed. "Of course, I was speaking with him earlier today as well and it's contagious. I will stop now." He hesitated only a fraction of a second before he took a deep breath, perhaps only rearranging the way he spoke, but his words denied that assessment. "As you know, I am partly telepathic."

Endymion had a small nod, he knew it and wanted Jadeite to continue on. "I suppose that is what allows me to hear the song. Rei mentioned it once to me, and it unlocked what I had been blocking. I don't know who unlocked her block, if she ever had one. I hoped when I told you that, you would be able to hear it too, I guess now."

"I'm not telepathic, and Rei is completely able to control that function of her ability."

Jadeite licked his lips, not realizing Endymion knew so much about everyone around him, including his wife. It gave him a moment's pause. He could entrust almost anything to Endymion, but he already knew that. "I don't know the words it sings, just the feel. Rei said there were no words really, at least nothing that she could translate. It is in a tongue she does not speak and cannot repeat the words she has heard for anyone else to translate. It just slips out of her fingers the moment she walks away, but with the two of us, we at least remember the sounds."

"Why haven't you mentioned this before? How did you even get passed the guards to talk to the grandfather? Only family is allowed down there."

"I am Jadeite, I get anywhere I want, remember? As for the mirror, I don't know. It's not like I _couldn't _tell you, Rei told me, but it was more I _shouldn't_ tell you. It would be better if you never knew of it, rather than being drawn in and always remembering like we do, and there's nothing we can do to change it."

"I don't hear the music, but I don't get drawn into the mirror's reflection either, anymore."

"I don't know what to tell you, this is the only thing that I can think of that could possibly fit what you have described. Perhaps your grandfather has pointed out the wrong thing, or is wrong."

"I have a feeling, he's the only one that would know the truth. If he hasn't forgotten it."

"I think there are a few things he will never forget, be unable to forget." Jadeite mentioned casually, not knowing the grandfather as well as Endymion. But no one really knew the grandfather that well, except perhaps Endymion's father, but he would not be one to ask for advice again on this matter.

Endymion slowly tilted his head in agreement. "So what do you think I should do to get this thing to do what it does?"

"I don't know. I have tried poking around on it before, but I had no results. But I have a feeling, that if you are going to be the one to go, you'll have to be the one to figure it out." Jadeite smiled cryptically. "You have to do some work, Prince, not everything is handed to you on a silver platter out of convenience. Besides, who knows, perhaps you _aren't _the one that gets to go. It would definitely make that head of yours a more decent size."

"Just get out of here." Endymion growled playfully. "Before I throw you in jail for keeping this from the crown and bedding your wife out of spite."

"You wouldn't!" Jadeite gasped in mock horror. "Not jail!"

"Oh, get out of here!"

Jadeite did as his liege commanded, but not before one more quip and a haughty bow and quick retreat and Endymion turned to contemplate the mirror that might just be the answer he needed to go to the moon.

It would be too much to ask for this to be the portal, the gateway for him to do so. He reached out a hand to touch the fine details in the frame, and he could feel something happening as it got closer.

* * *

EAN: OH! Cliff-hanger! Hehe... as for the delay to this and every other story I have out there, sorry! I was busy and unmotivated to type or think really recently, but I finally made myself do it.


	6. Six

SIX

AN: So sorry if anyone thinks these installments are too short. I'm purposefully keeping them that way, as I hope it will keep me on better track, more concise and to the point. As well as for you guys to get more updates more often. (though that hasn't been the case yet, sorry!) As well as to fit the style I've laid out. Slightly sarcastic, sweet and to the point as well as descriptively flow-y and mysterious yet not confusing, but circular script. Or at least, I hope that's how it seems... hehe... if not, oh well, on to the story!

* * *

And then his fingers hit the reflective surface of the mirror that made it a mirror and not just another shiny object that happened to do the same thing. He thought it had something to do with metal and sand and whatever else made a mirror a mirror.

Nothing happened. It was completely bogus, what he felt happening, was what he wanted to happen, and nothing more. Actually something did happen, he was made to look like the fool. Luckily nobody was there to witness his incredibly bizarre behavior. If this was all some elaborate joke by Jadeite, when he got through with him, Endymion sighed. If it was a joke, he made himself the target by seeking out everything first. It wasn't like Jadeite hinted at anything and made him curious and had him follow the path that lead him here.

Endymion pulled up a chair and sat in front of the mirror. Trying everything he could think of, then sitting there, looking at it, trying to think of more things he could try. He also tried not thinking and just _doing_, but it was no luck either. In fact, he became far more obsessed with this mirror now that he wasn't drawn to it in quite the same way as before, than before when he was drawn to it... um yeah, he was definitely going crazy, he was thinking in circles now.

He was about to give up and go to bed, or go to see his grandfather again, when he remembered he still had _two_ books he could reference through to try and find the answer.

It took him two months. _TWO bloody_ months to finally come across the answer. And that's exactly what he did, he _came__across _the answer. He didn't figure it out. He didn't do anything that made him _worthy _of the mirror in the first place, and then he just stumbles upon the answer by accident felt pretty cheap to him.

All right, maybe he had more to do with it then just stumbling upon the answer. He did work very hard to try and figure it out. Two months in and he checked his pocket of the clothes he was wearing that day and they were the unwashed set from over or under two months, give or take a few days. He found a perfectly formed red rose with not even a petal bruised, much less a pile of dust from how fast roses died and wilted. It wasn't even the dried version, but still perfectly intact, and excuse the pun, petal soft.

In his hand it looked more delicate than it had upon the rows in front of him when he plucked it that night so long ago. In between his desire to solve the mystery that day and today, he had conformed to the rest of his princely duties. That included here at the castle, abroad, keeping the peace and also hunting trips. Of which he narrowly avoided complete disaster as two dukes suddenly took at each other while he was having a diplomatic meeting, and saw the disapproving look in his father's eyes at his ability to handle such a situation. And then the actual fight, the hunt for the latest animal, put the approval back in his father's eyes as he easily sacked the largest game and the meanest.

So he was now back in his chambers for a week, having already wasted three days, wandering around the grounds, and talking to those he missed while he was away. Not very many, as he was used to being away and didn't like many people, hadn't really had a chance to get to know them either.

When he found the untouched rose, he thought back to the garden he visited just that morning. There hadn't been a morning moon, though there had been a day moon, after he left the place, and the roses had been moved around. He began to suspect that they could not die, and that's why the gardener shuffled them about, trying not only to kill them, but also account for something he had no basis to understand.

They could very well be ancient roses and still looked fresh. But that didn't explain the new rose-buds about to bloom, they had to be able to die off somehow, if this one wasn't a freak among the rest, at the very least.

He put it on the table as he sat before the mirror again, but he could see the reflection of it through said mirror. His eyes moved back to his favorite flower, looking no less beautiful and perhaps as strange as before.

It actually, if possible, looked even more beautiful in the reflection. He glanced back at it and it didn't look any different than when he plucked it, but when he looked in the mirror again, it positively glimmered. He picked up the flower and took it out to the balcony.

The moon was high in the sky and as soon as it was uncovered from the shadow of the building, it started to glow. It was not on the same par as the mirror, but it was definitely a change from when it was in his room.

He wondered what would happen if it was actually _on _the moon. It couldn't possibly be from the moon, could it? If it had some type of kinship with the Moon, how did it get to the Earth, how did it-

But he was thinking too far ahead, there were plenty of flowers on Earth that were always naturally here, and did odd things. Like Sunflowers, they followed the movement of the sun, bending and aching to touch it. There were also moon flowers and flowers that were phosphorous and glowed neon when the moon was out.

Why would this flower be any different? Despite that it was under the full force of the moon now and it still glowed _less_ than in his darkened room with only a mirror near it. However it could very well be the key to unlock everything.

He didn't know what to do with the flower, but he would try different things. He touched it against the glass, but all that it managed to do was make a smudge on the pristine surface. He ran the rose all over the entire frame and surface of the mirror, but still, nothing happened.

Then he sat there again, tearing into his hair and looking at it completely aghast. Perhaps it was just a mirror after all. He was about to give up and go to bed when his eyes caught sight of something he had not seen before. There, on the top right corner, was a rose, the only one in the entire frame, but hidden amongst the other flowers. He rose to his feet again and touched it there, holding it against its match. Still it did absolutely nothing. Frustrated, he picked up the mirror, having every intention of throwing it off of his balcony, and hoping it would smash into a thousand pieces and so he could forget about this silly fantasy forever.

The mirror this time reflected the moon and blinded him for a moment, and so he rested it against the balcony rail. He bypassed everything else and tried the rose against the rose first. There was a light, that stemmed from the mirror before it came out and absorbed him.

How did anyone find this before? Especially if the roses were from the moon in the first place? How could anyone have gone from the Earth to the moon?

It was his last conscious thought before... well, really, it was his last conscious thought as he didn't know what happened next.

* * *

EAN: I was going to have a comment here about the title of this story, but I think it is too early to tell you the original title.


	7. Seven

SEVEN

Endymion had the distinct feeling of something poking him. However when he came to enough, he could not feel it anymore. In fact, he was alone. No animal species around here. Not even bugs. It was strangely empty.

However not how he expected it either. It wasn't barren. It wasn't white.

In fact, he wasn't sure if he could see any white at all. Or any color other than green.

He was amazed by the sheer amount of green. More than any place he had ever seen on Earth. Except it was nothing like Earth too. He looked up and on the edge of the Moon, he could see his own planet in the distance. There, the green and blue orb hung in the sky.

The second thing he noticed which had to be forgiven for not being the first, as he was much too in awe of what he could see, to be bothered with the practical, was that there was oxygen for him to breath. Whether all of his notions about the moon was wrong, or he was somehow able to breath in little to no air.

He would have liked to believe it was the second. That would make him all sorts of powerful. It could be true, he would never know for sure, especially if he could not find another breathing soul on this planet. How on Earth, or would it be Moon, did the trees grow without bugs or insects to help them along?

He turned around in a complete circle, trying to understand where he found himself.

All around the small little clearing, only big enough for his unconscious body to fit lying down, was green leaves from trees. Massive amounts of trees that seemed to tower over him like his Ginko trees did at home, but unlike the ones at home, these trees had leaves. Lots and lots of leaves and branches. So much so, that he couldn't even see the ground or the trees that they came from. He could feel the roots though under his feet, barely beneath the soil, and some of them were so large they broke ground.

It was so dense, he did not realize that it was practically daylight on the moon as it turned away from the Earth and towards the Sun, even as the part of it he did not see was now looking upon the Earth, as it too shared daylight upon one side, though where he lived it would be many hours still until it could be part of this.

It was also so dense, it did not only make it seem like night, but he almost missed the sliver of white. He thought perhaps it would be an abandoned building or an altar, or some form of land. But as soon as he made a step towards it, it disappeared. It shouldn't have done that, it should have been more visible.

He hesitated and cut off his sight for a moment, trying to use all that he had learned in training, but it was difficult here on this foreign land. Everything was different, the smells were different, the feel in oh so many ways was off and the sounds, there were no sounds. Not even the wind wrestling through the trees. Then he heard it, tiny landing noises against the ground in a very clear rhythm.

He shot off towards the direction he had last seen the white and followed the sound.

Then got promptly hit in the face by a big fat leaf. It slowed him down. All of the foliage did.

Endymion was not sure how the creature was able to move so agilely through such thick terrain. Even with years of training, Endymion did not think this would be very possible. He had moved quickly and stealthy in his own land, but he had only to contend with the tall trunks and the rare root as he moved around and used it to his advantage. He could even sometimes reach the rare low limb and use it too.

He lost track of the creature, the only thing that was up here with him, and he lost track of where he had come from and where he was going. He was now stuck up here until he could either find the creature and hoped it talked, or work his way back. He turned, he would head back and see if he couldn't find his way home too, the more he knew about how he got here, the better he would be at being here. Though he also worried that if he left, he'd never come back.

His father would have probably tried to hunt down the creature and use it as a trophy. The last creature on the moon, wild and wily and he caught it and killed it and wasted its precious meat and life. Something that could be studied and attended too, bred to make a new race, maybe.

Perhaps this white creature was one of folk lore, the unicorn.

Perhaps not.

Perhaps it was a demon that was trying to get to his world and if it couldn't, would devour him instead. Oh yes, his father would be pleased, the sole heir to the throne, devoured by a Moon Creature, never to be found. Only a strangely placed mirror in his room as any indicator that not all was right. The clue would never be solved. The pieces weren't all there. Not even Jadeite would figure it out. His voice would only be added to the sad song heard by only one couple on the entire planet.

No one would destroy the mirror, they could not. It was physically impossible for anyone to do so, they would get too sidetracked to do it. He was beginning to wonder if it was possible at all, even if _he _had taken a sledgehammer to it, would it have broken? Something with that much magic, surely not-

Then he saw the slip of white again and then it was gone, as if it was his imagination. He followed it, on surer foot than before, knowing he had to catch it. It had a mind, even if it wasn't an intelligent one, it at least was curious and it was cautious. Perhaps it was more intelligent than he gave it credit for.

Then he saw something that stopped him cold. He saw a flash of gold. The moon had cold? One of the most rare and precious commodities on Earth, something the Earthlings fought over. If anyone knew, or had known, the moon would have been spoiled long ago.

Perhaps it was and only now had it finally recovered.

There were way too many unanswered questions for Endymion and he forced himself to continue. He had lost track of the animal again, but he had a general idea of where it was heading now. It had seemed random at first, but it kept going in the same direction from where he had landed. Even though it wasn't the same path, or even a straight on, it was heading in the same general direction. So he continued on, hoping to cut it off the next time their paths crossed. Whatever it was, it was not only agile, but it was fast too.

Maybe faster than he was.

He was learning, but so too was it. It started making more random movements, even heading back in the direction that they had come, or darting off sideways and going that way randomly for awhile.

It was curious, but it was also weary and didn't want to be caught.

He almost had it, his fingers reached through a dense patch of leaves and his fingers brushed against silk, but just as he was doing that, he missed a branch that was hidden by many leaves and suddenly he was out again.


	8. Eight

EIGHT

Endymion feared that this time when he woke up, that he would be back in his bed, and this would have all been a dream. There was no poking this time, no touching, and if it had been touching him the last time, it learned well enough to stay away.

He hoped it would soon forget that lesson and become curious again, or allow the curiosity to overpower its common sense. He was definitely dealing with a smart creature, smarter than most humans he knew. It learned not to poke the bear.

So Endymion did the only thing he could when he opened his eyes this time and got his barrings. Head in the direction he had previously decided was where the creature was heading. Hopefully he would find its nest or something.

What he finally stumbled across, and he did stumble, a blow to the head and being absorbed by light that had knocked him out for however long, would make anyone a little disoriented, not to mention all the things trying to snag him and trip him. What he finally came across was not a nest. It was however the remains of an altar. There was no roof, but four pillars which suggested that there may at one point have been such a thing. There was also a pedestal in the center and four more posts outside of the four pillars, but they were easily discarded.

Movement caught his attention and he called out, not expecting an answer, but caught it off guard enough that it stilled and Endymion learned that its true form was an upright creature, moving on two legs, not four. He took to chase it again, and managed to lose it again, but not before catching a more concrete glimpse of it.

He started talking, out loud to it, in several languages, trying to get it to respond. "I'm not here to harm you, I only want to understand- I just want to talk..."

His hand finally snagged her arm, and she was caught. Her hair was over-grown, covering her eyes and most of her face. He almost feared moving it out of the way, for what he would see even as his hand lifted to do so. She could be a humanoid, with sharp shark teeth and no nose and wild hungry tiger eyes. Her hair could try to ensnare him or kill him in some other format. If he so much as put his hand near her face, he might not get it back. Her game of cat and mouse might be just that, her being the cat and getting the mouse to follow her instead of the other way around. Then again, wouldn't she already have attacked him? Though her appearance wouldn't give him any positive indications. She was wearing white, and how it remained so, was a mystery to him. It was torn and tattered, so perhaps she wasn't as good as maneuvering this forest as she appeared to have.

Her hair while overgrown and a little wild, wasn't completely out of place, she only looked a little ruffled. She was also dirty, mud caked her bare feet and hands. Splatters covered her legs and arms and neck, leaving very little bare for him to tell what her skin color was. And she was fighting him, struggling to get free.

"Listen, all I want to do is talk. I'm not going to hurt you. Honestly. But to do so, you have to stay still." He encountered the hair and this is what he felt was silk before. It was odd, but not completely out of context. "Come on, just let me have a look." He tried to be as gentle as possible as he smoothed her hair back and away from what he assumed was a face and down the back of her head, pleased that there wasn't something on the back that would eat him.

He gasped when he saw her face, it wasn't anything he was expecting. It was so much worse.

She was human looking to the very core. But what made it so much worse, was the fact that she looked absolutely... gorgeous. She was unlike any woman he had seen, even though she looked like every single one of them. She was just _more_. If she had been anything he might have walked away just then, anything else, but she wasn't, she was what she was. And if he was honest with himself, even if she had been the ugliest creature to have ever existed, worse than any combination on Earth, he still wouldn't have walked away. Not for any instant attraction reasons, but because he had come all this way and to find _anything _here would have been a chance to find out about the Moon and perhaps why he was so drawn to it. It was all altruistic, he told himself. However even that was a lie. She could have been ugly and he still would have been drawn to her. Maybe because she was different. Maybe because she was from the Moon, but he didn't think so. He'd seen similar things happen to his men on Earth with ugly girls and beautiful girls alike. They saw them and they were hooked. Besides, beauty was in the eye of the beholder and cultural norms of the time. The inner strength of one woman often dictated the ideal for many others. Men were not free from this either.

It was stupid to claim it was love at first sight. He knew absolutely nothing about her, but it was definitely attraction and somewhere in the magical region of his heart there was a connection that was made. He just hoped it wasn't a poorly made connection that would end with his life being taken or them hating each other forever.

He lost his ability to speak and he just stared at her. She was not talking either, and he worried that maybe she couldn't understand him or his gentle reassurances. He would have to use more body language to calm her as none of the Earth languages reached her understanding.

He reached out to smooth a loose strand behind her ear and she jerked away at the same time, falling as she yanked free of his grasp. He winced as she landed with a loud thud, unable to grab her flailing fingers in time as that was the only thing he had had been close enough to do anything about, as she kept him at arms reach.

He knelt beside her, intending to help her up and make sure she was all right, when she jumped to her feet and ran again. Obviously not hurt in anyway, but he chose not to take off after her, she lived near this part of the forest, and so he would stay and wait her out. He _would _find some way to communicate with her. She would get used to his presence. In the meantime, he would have a look around her home.

Then he saw what was on the pedestal, it was hidden from view when he had first come upon it, but now that he was at a different angle, there glowed something that far surpassed anything he had ever seen before. He was surprised the blinding light hadn't been noticed even slightly blocked. He didn't think that it reacted to its owner's distress and being manhandled, even in the nicest way, would have caused it to be distressed, especially if he was the first human being she had ever seen.

He walked towards it, drawn to it, like he was drawn to the moon, the mirror, the roses, and its owner. It could have glowed ten times brighter next to its owner and he would have never noticed it though, but since they were all a part of her in some way, it pulled him in. His finger extended on his hand, all he wanted to do was run the finger down the cool surface but a voice called out.

"Don't touch it!" It sounded alarmed, and afraid. He wasn't sure if it was the girl or not, but he was more confused whether or not she was afraid for him, or for the object he was about to touch. But by then it was too late.


	9. Nine

NINE

This time he knew there was someone poking him. However this time, she wasn't poking him. She was moving him. "Were you poking me with a stick earlier?" He groaned as he felt her soft hands at work.

Then those hands were gone, but he caught one before she could retreat too far. She had turned him over, and so it was her own fault that he was able to just shoot out a hand instead of awkwardly moving it so he could grab her in time. He was disoriented, and groggy. This was different than the last two times he had been knocked out.

"Why on Earth is this place trying to kill me?" He did not let her go, even when she fought against his hold and he had to tighten it. It shouldn't have hurt, it was just firm and tight.

He waited patiently for her to answer one of his questions, but she didn't.

He opened his eyes, but she was swimming in front of his gaze and wouldn't stay still. He did however notice a look of displeasure on her still revealed face. "I'm sorry, but I swear I heard you talk to me earlier. Why are you refusing to talk now?"

She was looking at him confused, and he thought maybe he made it up. But it was a female voice, and now that he thought of it, it sounded too mature and cultured to come from this wild thing that was merely a slip of a girl, just barely legal in Earth's standards, if she was legal at all.

She frowned at him and tugged at her hand, looking pointedly at it.

He sighed, perhaps she hadn't been the one to talk, and he wondered if there was someone else here, one that guarded the place, but wasn't as curious as she was. "Just... don't run away, I'm not sure I can chase you again any time soon. Or if it would even be wise. Perhaps I should just go home and sleep safe and sound in my bed."

She didn't seem to respond to his threat and he sighed and let her go. She stumbled to her feet and took back several steps as if afraid he would strike her or grab her again, but he didn't move much, only to struggle into a sitting position against a tree. She had moved him off the altar. Understandably, as he had just committed a great error in her eyes.

He could understand her jumpiness. Man he could understand it. She wasn't the first one that he encountered that wasn't sure how to handle a different presence in their lands. Animals were that way, but so too were people living on the furthest reaches of his planet. Even though the Earth was round, the ones that didn't live near where most people came to converse and build large towers, they were more likely to be shocked by a different face.

So even though he usually knew even their languages, as he was given the skills as being the Crown Prince of the Earth, unlike being a normal Prince, the 'Of the Earth' bit was important, it meant there was one thing he didn't have to work for. He didn't have to learn another language, for it was there for him, the moment another one was created, and he could move through them effortlessly. Hell he didn't even know he was doing it until Zoicite pointed it out to him in amazement. Zoicite had studied an obscure language so he could be the translator for a very delicate situation and Endymion just sat down and started talking like it was his native tongue. But even situation where he could speak the language, he had to be very patient and allow the other to come to him.

"Endymion." He pointed at himself and spoke clearly and slowly.

He could see her mouth the word to herself, so she had to have some type of language skills. It seemed foreign on her tongue though and she knew it too, because she frowned when it didn't sound right to her. He pointed to her and she pointed to herself too, a question coming across her features. She shrugged and then flitted back into the trees.

He didn't bother to move, she'd be back. Perhaps she was going to go ask the voice what he wanted from her. But she was back far earlier than he had suspected and closer. She was kneeling next to him and this time took his hand in hers. Unknown to him, he had severely burnt off several layers of flesh and he hadn't felt it. Not until she touched it with what she had gone to get, then it was excruciating.

"It would have been better to leave it alone." Endymion ground out, though he could see the flesh mending and that's what had hurt so much. He groaned again as another wave of pain hit.

"Don't be such a baby." She sighed in perfect High Terran.

"You can speak? High Terran?"

"You never asked, did you?" She responded dryly. "You just assumed I couldn't and even though you tried every language your Earthlings speak, you never asked me straight out if I could understand you. In fact, I was hoping that eventually you would get bored of this game and _stop_ talking. But no, you just talked more and more, and then when you tried to speak simply to me, I knew it had to end." She shuddered. "Can the language get any more basic?"

"You can speak it, and you call it basic?"

"High Terran I'll give you as being slightly more complex, but you didn't bother with it. I can speak all of your Earth Languages now. Thanks to you." She muttered under her breath the last bit and she seemed disgusted by it.

"What does that mean?"

"You like all other Earthlings before you, had to go poking about where you don't belong. Why couldn't you leave well enough alone and stay on your dirty planet?!" She had finished with his hand and she shot to her feet, pointing at him with pure frustration.

He didn't know why she was so angry, but she was starting to rile him up too with all of the insults. With the mending of his hand, so too had his ability to focus and he jumped to his feet as well and she scattered back frightened. He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. "I honestly mean you no harm. Please believe that. I was curious."

"Just... just leave me alone. You've already caused enough damage." She seemed like she was about to cry, but she pushed the tears back and disappeared into the forest again.

Endymion ran a frustrated hand through his hair. How had he managed to piss her off? Did he really cause damage by touching the crystal? He now knew though, that it definitely wasn't her voice he had heard but he didn't know who's it was. Perhaps he had to find the holder of the voice, to convince the other girl he wasn't all that bad. If she was here, and could speak so well, there had to be others, right?


	10. Ten

TEN

He didn't go home. He didn't find anyone else either, and he didn't find the girl again, couldn't even hear her breathing in the distance or footfalls. They had always been soft, but he had heard them all, just not now. Though he knew she was still around, he could feel it, both in a way he always knew when something was watching him and in a completely new and bizarre way he had never known before. He just _knew_.

He stuck with one direction, hoping that he would find a way out of the forest and find something else, something that would point to this girl just being a curiosity, and part of a land full of people that were just hidden from the Earth's sight. That she just chose to be difficult. Little did he know however, had there been others after what happened, she would have been the kindest to his type. And she had spoken with such sophistication when she wasn't being facetious. He'd thought her a wild child with no ability to speak or understand more than the basic physical movements. How wrong he'd been, but he still didn't understand her, she still looked wild and acted it at times.

There were no others though, no matter how much or how long he looked. He wouldn't find another living soul on this planet, not even animals. "How do you live?" He asked as he walked, hoping she would hear him and grace him with a response. She didn't. Perhaps she had stopped following him, or at least close enough to be seen or see him, or even hear him. She might have a better way of following him than he knew.

He knew she was still close, but they couldn't hear one another. But he was on her planet, if she had been on his, he would have known exactly where she was at all times, and what she was doing. For now, he only had vague clues.

"Don't go there. Stop walking." Her voice was clear and urgent and was unexpected and then he felt her hands on him, pulling him back. He turned to her as they fell backwards, and he caught her and rolled so he would take the impact. Luckily this time he did not pass out. He wasn't even winded by the impact.

"What?" He demanded, looking towards where he was heading, and could only see trees still. "What's wrong, why can't I go that way? More stones I shouldn't touch?"

Her face grew angry at the mention. "Don't you have any idea what you've done because of that?" He didn't know, and she didn't feel it was her responsibility to explain it to him. "Just don't go any further, you won't survive."

Then she took off again and he rolled his eyes, he'd have to pin her down, literally, and get answers from her. Perhaps if he hadn't touched her precious stone, she would have been more receptive to him. Though she had treated him kindly as he was knocked out. She couldn't be_that_ angry. However she had gone in the direction she told him not to go. He pushed aside the leaves, but did as she said, and did not take another step in that direction. But it was enough.

It felt like the oxygen in his body was being pulled out now that he moved aside what was making the air breathable, or possible. He let the leaves fall back and felt the air return to his system. He took a big breath and pushed aside the leaves again. He didn't dare step out, he might die on contact. There past the forest, was the barren white he had always dreamed would be the moon. It was glorious and beautiful but it was empty, and for him, a killer. Perhaps if he wielded all the powers of Earth now, including his golden crystal, he would have been able to survive it, but she was right, he wouldn't in the state of things now.

But she was out there, dancing as the sun slowly set and the Earth rose in the distance, larger in this place than the moon was in his. It was as if she called to the Earth as much as the Earth called to her and to him. Perhaps she was why he was so interested in the Moon.

He was about to pass out from holding his breath so he let go of the leaves and released his breath. He took in big lung full breaths of air. She didn't need as much oxygen as he did apparently, but then why did this place exist?

She came barreling back through the forest and her hands went to her knees as she took deep heaving breaths and then she glanced up at him and glared. "What have you done to me?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I can usually go out there for awhile without needing to come back in here, and even longer before it affects me in such a way. Stupid human has to mess everything up." It would be awhile still before they learned that _she _hadn't needed the breaths that had caused her such panic at this moment, rather she was reacting to his body and he had tried to hide how badly he needed to breathe, not the idea that she now had as weak of lungs as the human, and couldn't enjoy what she so did every day.

She was gone again, but he was finally able to breath and so he walked around the perimeter. There was nothing, absolutely nothing else for him to see. He didn't even know how he got there, or how he could get back. Everything looked the same, it was wide expanses of heavily leaved trees. And it was very very humid. Endymion didn't quite reach it half way around, when he felt himself tire.

It was surprisingly a lot of work walking around here, it should have been easier, with the lighter gravity, but he couldn't find as much purchase to move and his muscles weren't working as hard as they were on Earth.

He settled into the groove of one tree and closed his eyes. He didn't know how long he would have to be here, or how long he already was, but he wouldn't leave until he was satisfied. He felt bad for his mother who always worried, and thought his father could do with some stress. He didn't _always _do as he was told. Besides, they were used to him taking off by now, though they might become concerned when they couldn't just tap into the Earth and find him.

His dreams that night were plagued by her. Some that caused him unrest because she was so mysterious and he was always reaching for her, but could never touch her. The others were a little too steamy to go into detail and weren't nearly as innocent.

When he woke up the next morning, it was to the sun shining and birds flying over head.

Wait, birds?


End file.
